Nashua aldermen to review teacher, firefighter contract proposals

NASHUA — City teachers and firefighters presented two separate bargaining agreements to the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, however, there was little discussion about the proposals this week.

Both of the proposed contracts have been assigned to the aldermanic Budget Review Committee for further analysis by aldermen. The committee is expected to study the documents and make its recommendations to the full board, which anticipates voting on the two contracts by the end of the year.

The first bargaining agreement is between the International Association of Firefighters Local 789 and the Nashua Board of Fire Commissioners. If approved, the two-year contract would be in effect from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2015.

According to the proposed contract, which is available on the city’s website, firefighters would receive a base salary increase of 2.5 percent in the first year (or a 2.7 percent wage adjustment including step increases) and an additional 2.5 percent in the second year (or nearly 2.6 percent including step increases). Currently, the combined base pay for the city’s 166 firefighters in the union is about $9.4 million. If the contract is approved, the base pay would jump to $9.67 million in fiscal year 2014 and $9.92 million in fiscal year 2015.

City officials would have to use $150,000 from the contingency account to cover wage adjustments in the existing budget cycle if the bargaining agreement is authorized by the board, according to the proposed resolution.

The second bargaining agreement introduced to aldermen this week is between the Nashua Teachers’ Union Local 1044 and the Nashua Board of Education. If approved, the three-year contract would be in effect from Sept. 1, 2013, to Aug. 31, 2016.

According to the proposed contract that is posted online, teachers would receive an increase to their base pay of 2 percent in the first year, 2.7 percent in the second year and 3.1 percent in the third year.

Currently, the combined base pay for the city’s 1,005 teachers in the union is about $55.5 million. If the contract is approved, the base pay would jump to $56.7 million in fiscal year 2014, $58.2 million in fiscal year 2015 and nearly $60 million in fiscal year 2016.

City officials would have to transfer about $788,000 from the contingency account in the current budget cycle if the bargaining agreement is authorized by the board. An additional $348,000 from the school retirement expendable trust fund would also have to be transferred to accommodate the base salary adjustments, according to the proposed resolution.